"Hahaha, your students are very excited, so I'll have to get serious!"
The next second, the attacker shouted in a chuunibyou fashion, "Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"
Snakes slithered out from her sleeves and flew toward Masahiko.
Masahiko didn't hold back either. He completed the hand seals in the blink of an eye, and a wave of fire erupted from his mouth, swirling inward to form a massive fireball.
"What?"
Sasuke could no longer remain calm.
His eyes widened; he hadn't expected Masahiko to know the Great Fireball Technique.
While still in shock, he noticed that Masahiko cut off the fire output before the Great Fireball could reach its maximum power.
He was somewhat puzzled.
But in the next second, Sasuke understood.
The enemy hadn't been hit at all!
Furthermore...
Masahiko probably didn't expect the Great Fireball to hit either?
As he was thinking, he saw Masahiko weave seals in mid-air, and a Shadow Clone appeared.
Then, a Shadow Clone appeared beside him, which Masahiko grabbed and threw violently to the side.
Anko Mitarashi, who had circled around the fireball, was raising her hand to use Hidden Shadow Snake Hands when she felt a powerful surge of Chakra.
She was startled and retreated abruptly.
Only to see—
"Bang!"
The Shadow Clone exploded like a spark, but... it was limited to just a spark.
The anticipated violent explosion didn't happen; the Shadow Clone turned into scattered, unstable sparks and dissolved into the air.
"Anko, it's not very polite to suddenly interrupt someone's class, is it?"
Masahiko lowered his hands, his tone quite helpless.
Anko Mitarashi also stopped, pretending she hadn't made a fool of herself, and smiled. "I heard from Gekko that you've made great progress and are very strong in Taijutsu now. I just couldn't help myself..."
In the next second, she looked at the group of students and waved familiarly.
"See? Didn't I just give everyone a practical Taijutsu lesson?"
"..."
Masahiko sighed helplessly.
Anko Mitarashi had been classmates with his predecessor during their school days.
His relationship with her... fellow exercise enthusiasts?
They would occasionally run into each other while running laps or training, but they didn't have much of a deep connection beyond that.
It had to be said, this girl was comparable to Naruto in some aspects.
He sighed silently and was about to speak, but she waved her hand nonchalantly. "No need for a guest fee. See you at the school gate at noon; I have something important to talk about."
Anko Mitarashi used Body Flicker and left.
Coming and going like a whirlwind.
Masahiko was momentarily speechless, then looked at Sasuke and the others, coughing lightly. "That person just now was a former classmate of mine..."
He sighed softly.
"Forget it, ignore her. Let's continue with Taijutsu training today..."
"Teacher!"
Sasuke raised his hand.
Masahiko looked over and nodded slightly, gesturing for him to speak.
Sasuke asked, "Teacher, you didn't use the full power of the Great Fireball Technique. Was it to control its strength, or did you interrupt it on purpose?"
"Sasuke, you're very sharp!"
Masahiko explained gently, "The Great Fireball is powerful, but it's too slow. Even if I used my full strength, it wouldn't hit, so it's better to conserve Chakra."
He smiled, taking the opportunity to offer some advice: "Unless you are certain it will hit, always hold back a bit of strength to allow for more flexible movements..."
These were concepts taught by 'Young Might Guy'.
Speed is an advantage, but in battle, being overly obsessed with speed can actually become a weakness.
One of the secrets of Taijutsu combat is—
Unless you can land a guaranteed hit, never exhaust your full strength, so you can flexibly change your moves.
Everyone fell into deep thought.
To students who hadn't seen real combat yet, high power and great destructive force were what defined strength.
This included Sasuke, the top student, who had held the same view until now.
However...
In this fight, neither Masahiko nor the other Chunin pursued massive destructive power in their Taijutsu and Ninjutsu exchange.
This was very different from their student mindset.
Shikamaru looked thoughtful.
Masahiko glanced at him and smiled. "Shikamaru, what are your thoughts?"
"Huh?"
Shikamaru was a bit dazed.
Then, he scratched his head. "I think you haven't told us everything. This should be a tactic for the intelligence-gathering phase, right?"
"Tactics must adapt to the situation; they certainly can't be rigid and unchanging,"
Masahiko said with a smile. "For example, if the enemies were you guys as you are now, I naturally wouldn't need to probe or hold back."
Shikamaru wasn't the first time he had heard such things, so he didn't feel much.
Being a Ninja really is a drag.
If possible, things would be fine just like this.
Unfortunately, it's not possible.
Shikamaru clearly understood his situation.
As the son of Nara Shikaku, wanting to just drift through life probably wouldn't work... He remained silent among the crowd.
Beside him, Ino's eyes were curved in a smile—
The teacher didn't agree that morning, but he still cares about Shikamaru.
However... afterward, Masahiko called on several other people, asking for their thoughts and engaging with them, showing no signs of favoritism.
"Teacher is just so fair and impartial!"
...Noon, at the school gate.
Anko Mitarashi stood by the side like a gate guardian, chewing on a blade of grass.
After waiting for a long while.
"Tsk, why isn't he here yet? He didn't run away, did he?"
She couldn't wait any longer and was about to go inside.
"I remember you're always busy, yet you have time today. What did you come looking for me for?"
Masahiko's voice came from behind.
Anko Mitarashi chuckled, then raised her hand and patted Masahiko on the shoulder.
"It's nothing major, just catching up."
"Really?"
Masahiko's smile was gentle. "I don't believe you."
"Tsk... you don't trust me that much?"
Anko Mitarashi curled her lip, then put her arm around his shoulder, leaning in close without a hint of awkwardness. "Let's go, let's go, my treat!"
She dragged Masahiko to a Dango Shop, ordered Mitarashi Dango and Red Bean Soup, and sat down to enjoy her meal.
Masahiko didn't care for sweets, but he still ate slowly with politeness and grace.
After eating some, Anko Mitarashi said with a grin, "My team is short-handed. I see you're quite capable; are you interested in joining my team?"
"Not interested."
Masahiko rested his chin on one hand.
He wasn't just brushing her off. After taking a sip of soup, he said, "Being a teacher is good. Besides, my talent is average; researching and pondering things slowly is what I'm best at."
"Really not interested?"
Anko frowned, then lowered her voice. "What about the Anbu then?"
Hmm?
Masahiko looked up sharply, then shook his head.
"I'll stick to being a teacher."
His hand holding the soup bowl paused in mid-air.
"The future of Konoha lies in the students, the children. There are a few promising talents in this batch; if I can help them develop, it would be more impactful than anything I could do as a single Chunin."
He looked sincere.
Anko Mitarashi's mouth, which was biting into a dango, froze as she stared blankly at Masahiko.
"What's wrong?"
Masahiko took a sip of soup.
Did I... overact?
Anko Mitarashi snapped out of it and shook her head slightly. "Nothing, just thinking... well, you have a point."
She swallowed the dango, but her heart thought otherwise.
Yagyu Masahiko... honestly, Anko Mitarashi didn't have a very deep impression of their shared experiences during school; she only remembered that he wanted to be a powerful Ninja back then.
After the Nine-Tails Incident, Masahiko's daily running and hard training had left a deep impression on her.
So.
Hearing what Gekkō Hayate said, she had come to the school on a whim to test Masahiko's skills.
Now... he felt a bit like a stranger to her.